ATLANTA — The FBI and Atlanta Police Department (APD) are conducting a comprehensive security operation targeting unauthorized drones around the World Cup semifinals between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium on Tuesday, July 14th, 2026.

Both agencies have deployed drones to monitor potential threats both on the ground and in the air. The FBI is enforcing the Federal Aviation Administration's Temporary Flight Restrictions in the vicinity of the venue.

Since the World Cup began, the FBI has confiscated over 600 drones nationwide, with Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office Marlo Graham reporting that 86 of those were seized in Atlanta alone. Graham explained that the FBI employs a "mechanism" enabling agents to detect unauthorized drones in restricted airspace and has successfully "safely landed drones that have been unauthorized in the flight restricted area."

Kindu Franklin noted that most individuals caught flying drones near World Cup venues are hobbyists without any intent to harm the crowds. Some have recently purchased drones specifically to capture footage for FIFA and share on social media.

The APD drone unit has been active, completing more than 1,400 flights and logging over 550 flight hours since early June. Anais Paredes, an APD drone pilot, said, "We live here, so we know what to expect."

Authorities emphasized the importance of proactive measures, noting the potential for drones to be weaponized and the risk of disrupting the game due to uncontrolled hobbyist drones.

Sources